Of the frequent commenters here, What is your education level?

Go Beavers said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

jnimhaoileoin said:

Well it's obvious to me anyway. It's interesting to see if people's social and political views can be linked to their level of educational attainment. It's a very common area of study in statistics

The less analytical you are the more conservative you are.
I made a thread recently in here with a study...

The more education someone has, the more likely they are to be liberal. Maybe that inspired the thread?

Is that actually true?  honest question.

oftenreading said:

mcgruff10 said:

Go Beavers said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

jnimhaoileoin said:

Well it's obvious to me anyway. It's interesting to see if people's social and political views can be linked to their level of educational attainment. It's a very common area of study in statistics

The less analytical you are the more conservative you are.
I made a thread recently in here with a study...

The more education someone has, the more likely they are to be liberal. Maybe that inspired the thread?

Is that actually true?  honest question.

Yes 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/27/study-finds-those-graduate-education-are-far-more-liberal-peers

Cool article thank you.  It does makes sense.
I consider myself pretty much in the middle, some things I am to the right and others I am to the left.  

mcgruff10 said:

oftenreading said:

mcgruff10 said:

Go Beavers said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

jnimhaoileoin said:

Well it's obvious to me anyway. It's interesting to see if people's social and political views can be linked to their level of educational attainment. It's a very common area of study in statistics

The less analytical you are the more conservative you are.
I made a thread recently in here with a study...

The more education someone has, the more likely they are to be liberal. Maybe that inspired the thread?

Is that actually true?  honest question.

Yes 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/27/study-finds-those-graduate-education-are-far-more-liberal-peers

Cool article thank you.  It does makes sense.
I consider myself pretty much in the middle, some things I am to the right and others I am to the left.  

I have found that as time passes and I experience more, that my opinions change...sometime significantly.  I would say I started out a fairly staunch conservative....and this without a religious undertone at all.  Overtime, I've sometimes flip flopped 100% on a topic or have grown into a more gray area.  I still find I am a fiscal conservative however socially liberal (with exceptions to each of those statements).  I do feel college helped me figure out what I believe by putting different issues in my face and making me think.  I loved college.

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

mcgruff10 said:

Go Beavers said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

jnimhaoileoin said:

Well it's obvious to me anyway. It's interesting to see if people's social and political views can be linked to their level of educational attainment. It's a very common area of study in statistics

The less analytical you are the more conservative you are.
I made a thread recently in here with a study...

The more education someone has, the more likely they are to be liberal. Maybe that inspired the thread?

Is that actually true?  honest question.

Yes 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/27/study-finds-those-graduate-education-are-far-more-liberal-peers

So I'll admit I haven't read your link yet....but I also wonder if it's really education or financial stability.  For some, they just want all the $ themselves.  But for many, if you are financially stable and feel you have more than enough to live, you tend to be willing and wanting to help.  And, if you have a college degree you are likely to be earning more $ and be more financially stable.  

Of course though, going to college also means being exposed to a lot more people different from yourself and that will drive that behavior as well.  If you live in the same town your whole life and don;t have $ to travel, if an issue doesn't effect you directly you can't understand it (or really don't try).

Oh - and professors certainly try to pass on their opinions of things.  I had a lawyer teaching an Environmental law course that was a pretty solid activist...it certainly made the curriculum different than someone else.  It's not all based on fact, it's based on fact and then someone's interpretation of other things.

I don't think the standard 4-year+ college is right for everyone.  I do think that some extended job training really should be.  Whether it be a technical school, apprenticeship, whatever.  But something that hones a skill and critical thinking.  All the while exposed to different points of view.  

This topic comes up every couple of months, and I usually question the studies. I'm sure financial stability plays a major role.
Also, the younger generation leans more left and also is more likely to go to college and graduate school. So it makes sense education would lean some to the left.
But I don't think it is as big of a gap as most studies make it out to be. I didn't see how this particular study defined liberal or conservative, but I have seen many other studies where the definition was skewed in a way to favor one or the other. 
To me something doesn't add up with these findings right off the bat.

If voting even remotely represented these findings, every election would be a landslide. Whatever parameters were used, liberals make up 35% of the total population while conservatives make up 27%. In any election that would be a landslide. 
The number of conservatives stays essentially the same, changing by just 3-4% throughout. 
the number of conservatives and liberals for HS or less is exactly the same, 26% for each group. So in no category do conservatives outnumber liberals. How can this be possible when the country is essentially divided if liberals so overwhelmingly favor education?  If the point many are trying to make is that liberals are more educated, shouldn't conservatives dominate the HS and some school categories then? But they even lose or tie in those.
In most categories the "mixed" makes up the largest group.
My guess, and it's only a guess, is that whatever parameters used to define this study did not correctly identify the "mixed" group. I've seen it done before, it is easy to manipulate statistics like this by asking just a couple identifying questions (For example I've seen "do you believe in no exception abortion laws?" and if they answer "yes" they are conservative and if they answer "no" they are liberal, when in fact nearly all conservatives/pro-lifers do believe in exceptions. This is just used to misidentify groups).  
If the mixed group was truly mixed, and voting even remotely represented these findings, every election would be a landslide and there would be no republicans in office.
In reality I would predict that the difference is small, probably 3-5%, and that would be accounted for the newer generation leaning left and having more education available/required.

Go Beavers said:

Comparing voting outcomes to this poll to debunk the poll doesn’t really work because of the country’s low voter turnout. There isn’t a 50/50 split. Conservatives are less than half, maybe 35-40%. If voter turnout was 100%, there would hardly be any republicans in office because non-voter values align more with the Dems. It’s why Republicans essentially want to put up barriers to voting and don’t really care about low turnout. 

Interesting point, GB.  What do you attribute to low left leaning/ Dem voter turn out?

Its not just the voting polls. I can't find a single article that places the number of overall libs higher than cons in this country. But according to this poll it isn't even close. 

When I googled number of liberals and conservatives, every one put the number of conservatives higher. I actually thought it was essentially equal, but reading through the first several sources they all quoted conservatives as a higher number. 
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/there-are-more-liberals-but-not-fewer-conservatives/
that was like the 7th article down and I stopped looking after that. 

So you don't find it odd that every source reports the overall number of conservatives higher, except for this poll? That doesn't make you question the source and motives of this poll and how they classified people as conservative or liberal?

eddiec said:

brianlux said:

Go Beavers said:

Comparing voting outcomes to this poll to debunk the poll doesn’t really work because of the country’s low voter turnout. There isn’t a 50/50 split. Conservatives are less than half, maybe 35-40%. If voter turnout was 100%, there would hardly be any republicans in office because non-voter values align more with the Dems. It’s why Republicans essentially want to put up barriers to voting and don’t really care about low turnout. 

Interesting point, GB.  What do you attribute to low left leaning/ Dem voter turn out?

Not being able to get off work is a big one for urban low income families. 

I don't buy that. Aren't most polls open like 12 hours on big elections?
And then what about early/mail in ballots?
Anyone who wants to vote can very easily do so.

mace1229 said:

I think it would be funny to see how many people involved in the protests and marches didn't take the time out to vote. 

What, if I may ask, is the axe you are grinding here, mace?

https://youtu.be/BM_bFvFsnrY

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

Its not just the voting polls. I can't find a single article that places the number of overall libs higher than cons in this country. But according to this poll it isn't even close. 

When I googled number of liberals and conservatives, every one put the number of conservatives higher. I actually thought it was essentially equal, but reading through the first several sources they all quoted conservatives as a higher number. 
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/there-are-more-liberals-but-not-fewer-conservatives/
that was like the 7th article down and I stopped looking after that. 

So you don't find it odd that every source reports the overall number of conservatives higher, except for this poll? That doesn't make you question the source and motives of this poll and how they classified people as conservative or liberal?

I'm confused.  This poll asks about our education level, not our political alignment.

Someone posted an article linking political alignment to education. I was responding to that.  Didn't mean to help derail the thread if that is what happened.